Batman has always held a special place in the hearts of many. However, the same cannot be said for his video games. Enter Batman: Arkham Asylum… Will this superhero conquer the madhouse of video games?
Firstly Arkham Asylum (AA) is not based on any Batman movie *jumps in joy*. The game kicks off with Batman having captured the ever so loveable Joker and is taking him to the madhouse prison known as Arkham Asylum. In a typical psychologically twisted fashion, the Joker has planned a hostile takeover of the Asylum and it’s up to ‘Bats’ to bring him down and end the fun/madness. The story oozes originality and is filled with enough depth, suspense and action to satisfy someone looking for a great game and to give an instant heart attack to the hardcore superhero fans.
AA takes the superhero game to an all new level with its unique, varied and addictive gameplay. In your attempt to bring the Joker and all your foes down, you will have to be smart and plan your attack. Guns blazing is not a good idea as you WILL get shot down (Pity ‘Bman’ isn’t bulletproof). At certain points you will be required to approach the game with different tactics.
When you’re nearby enemies that aren’t ‘packing’ (yes that’s gangster slang), you will have to take them down using the ‘free flow combat’ system which works incredibly well as it allows ‘Bats’ to take on multiple enemies as once. With a flick of the analogue stick Batman can move back and forth between enemies while throwing some serious punches and kicks. Be warned it can be addictive as there is nothing more satisfactory than executing a 40x combo on some ugly looking baddies.
If ‘Bats’ isn’t using his combat skills, he’ll have to use his stealth to take out the armed thugs one by one in order to avoid being filled with bullets. You’ll have to use your environment to sneak, together with your gadgets, in order to take them out from the shadows.
If you didn’t catch the demo, you’ll be pleased to discover that ‘Bats’ has now become a detective. AA boasts a cool new feature known as ‘detective mode’ which you will have to use in order to look through walls for enemies, locate escape points, or follow trails to locate certain missing characters. It works very well as it adds variety and an interesting dimension to the game.
Being the spoilt rich man that he is, ‘Bman’ has a rather large list of gadgets at his disposal. To mention a few: the ‘batarang’ and the grapple hook as well as another six which will not be mentioned because that’s something which you will have to experience yourself.
The graphics in AA are top notch and they’re very pleasing to the eye. This can be seen in the gorgeous level design of the entire Asylum which holds a vast amount of detail and captures the darkness and insanity of the madhouse. Character modeling is very well executed with all the characters moving ever so fluidly. This is also seen in the way that the ‘free flow combat’ plays. To top that off, there is some great voice acting, esspecially the Joker (voiced by Mark Hammil) who steals the show with his dark, yet charming humor.
Once you’ve conquered the madness and finished the roughly 12 hour story mode, you can shoot off and play some ‘challenge mode’. Here you will have to pass certain challenges and score points for completing them. You will have to either fight off huge numbers of thugs or silently take them out. This is a great feature as it adds replay value and includes some features which were super fun in the story mode (aka kicking some ass).
Batman: AA has all the characteristics of a true superhero game. Perhaps the even one you have been waiting for all this time. It offers a great and entertaining story, fun and addictive gameplay and a good amount of replay value. It is truly a unique and captivating game to play. This is definitely a title to pick up this year, and trust us, once you start, the madness will get hold of you and you’ll never stop. Mwahahahahahahahahahahah! *evil laugh*
[starreviewmulti id=1 tpl=20]
